Recent developments of information-oriented societies have promoted frequent information transmissions. While the information transmission typically uses transmission media, such as a cable, an optical fiber cable among them has multipurpose utility because it may effectively transmit data over a long distance at a much higher speed than those of conventional pair lines or coaxial metallic cables. The optical fiber cable is a glass or plastic made thin line for transmitting an optical signal, and has a concentric shape in which a clad covers a center core. The optical fiber cable efficiently transmits far away an optical signal enclosed in the core using a difference between core and clad light diffractive indexes and the total reflection.
For example, a high-speed Local Area Network (“LAN”) that achieves a base band signal transmission at a transmission speed of 100 Mbps is called the 100 BASE standard, and includes the 100Base-TX and 100 BASE-FX. The 100 BASE-TX uses an Unshielded Twisted Pair (“UTP”) cable as a transmission medium, while 100 BASE-FX uses an optical fiber cable as a transmission medium. The optical fiber cable has great utility for providing not only a LAN Ethernet with signal transmissions over several kilometers but also inexpensive Fiber To The Home (“FTTH”). A media converter is usually used to convert a signal between two transmission media. The media converter, as used herein, is a device for converting a signal propagating different transmission media, for instance, an UTP and an optical fiber cable and, and an optical fiber cable (of a single mode) and an optical fiber cable (of a multimode).
It is difficult to handle an optical fiber cable except for engineers. As discussed above, the optical fiber cable is made of such fragile materials as the core and clad, and the curvature less than a permissible value would lessen the transmission capability and damage the optical fiber cable. An engineer usually lays out an optical fiber cable, but general users sometimes have to handle it. For example, once an engineer properly attaches the media converter, a user should take over its handling.
While the optical fiber cable has a standard specified length, the standardized length does not sometimes match a length necessary for a certain service condition. For example, it is conceivable that a user applies an unintentional force to any extra length of the optical fiber cable, thereby bending the cable or damaging a connection between the media converter and the optical fiber cable or undesirably damaging its transmission capability.
It is conceivable to accommodate the optical fiber cable to protect from an external force, but a mere accommodation is not enough and a status of the accommodated cable should be considered. In other words, the accommodated condition must maintain the transmission capability.
In addition, as the recent developments of information-oriented societies have promoted frequent information transmissions not only among companies but also among homes, electronic apparatuses such as a media converter as a transmission apparatus have spread among homes. Since homes require smaller devices than those installed in companies, the device should be made small and shaped to fit a small space in the house.